If you've gotten your hands on an Apple TV and want to customize it to fit your exact needs, then this will be good news for you. According to MacNN, an enterprising individual has released an Apple TV plug-in dev kit that could make things easier for all plug-in devs out there.

 

The BackRow Developers' Kit, which can be downloaded from alanquatermain.net, contains headers for BackRow framework, iPhotoAccess framework, and QuartzComposer frameworks. All of these are needed to run appliance plug-ins on the Apple TV as well as the BackRow Test application.

MacNN also notes that the SDK also includes an Xcode project template that has everything necessary to "start a custom appliance plug-in, creating the Info-plist with the required elements as well as Appliance and ApplianceController classes with links in the appropriate frameworks."

If you're new to all of this, a few BackRow programming tutorials can also be downloaded from the developer's website.

While most people find little or no sense in beating a dead horse, more find it full-out insane in taking a living, breathing thoroughbred behind the sheds and putting it out of its misery with no actual justification whatsoever. It just doesn't work that way. But it seems Apple has other ideas, with the ill-fated workhorse in question being the small, petite Mac Mini.

Retailing between US$ 599 and US$ 799, they offered customers on a budget an affordable, easy-to-use alternative to the ever-so-popular PC when they were released to the market two years ago.

Figure in the pros of being small, light, and pretty much making life less complicated without the forest of wires PC users often deal with, the Mac Mini could have catered easily to the needs of a space-conscious, non-gaming demographic, or those who just needed a personal computer without the hassle.

By all rights, the Mac Mini should have sold big. But it didn't, and all signs are now pointing to its inevitable demise - but it's not as if we didn't see it coming.

Even before the Mac Mini was released, the market it was made specifically for was practically one that didn't exist, as far as some Apple executives are concerned. Like the kid in the middle that fades into the background, neglected and ignored, the Mac Mini also received a grand total of four updates from Apple - including one that the company didn't even bother to write a press release about. Add to this the fact that the Mac Mini's processors had always been more than a step behind from its bigger, shinier cousins (the iMacs and MacBooks). It's a recipe for disaster, and Apple itself was the one to whip it up.

To be fair, Apple tried to give the Mac Mini a shot in the arm, with plans of a built-in iPod dock - but that too was canned even before it left the drawing board, replaced instead with Apple TV. People see this as the final act of letting go, or the trigger-pulling, so to speak. The little Mini was left to continue on its downward spiral towards obscurity.

It's great that Apple regularly puts out great new products that everyone falls in love with (at least after a significant price drop anyway), but they have to love their products back, most of all. It's like Apple is the computer world's Nintendo - but without the continuous support and love for its older children.

Atleast that's what AppleInsider thinks. Do you think the Mac Mini is dead? Let us know what you think.

 

It's another year of new gadgets and toys for the modern man, and PC World's Top 100 Best Products of 2007 listed stuff you don't wanna miss. Among all the techy stuff, Nintendo Wii climbed its way up to third place and manifested its domination.

Apple's jack-of-all-trades when it comes to media streaming hardware, Apple TV, took 11th spot. Playable formats may be limited, but this convenient and easy to use entertainment package is worth the money you'll put on it.

Wii is not the only console on the list, Xbox 360 Elite also got its share of fame. Its HDMI 1.2 connector and massive 120GB hard drive gave it a boost to the 18th spot. When talking about gadgets, it's pretty hard not to include iPod in the conversation. The hefty 80GB Apple iPod took 26th place, followed by the smaller 8GB iPod Nano on the 45th.

To see the entire list, click on the Read link below.

According to comScore Media Metrix's data, the number of American visitors at Apple.com went from 27.3 million to 38.8 million, placing Apple at 13th rank for most visited properties on the web.

Others have speculated that this increase in site visits was due to the new iPhone, the fight for DRM free music, Apple TV, and the infamous Leopard delay. What's even more amazing about this is that even without detailed news about the new iPhone, it's still one of the (supposed) main reasons for the site's increased popularity. Could this mean that the demand for the phone is that high?

MacUser, an Apple news site, points out that ultimately it wasn't a "shabby month" for Apple.com when it came to content, but they find it hard to believe that the stories alone could generate 11 million additional users. They speculate that either Apple as a whole is getting more popular in the us or comScore's data is flawed. We here at QJ would go with the former.

Sure the Apple TV has nearly everything you can ever want - save for the video games. There is speculation that the Apple TV may be able to support games in the future, though they will likely be bought from the iTunes store or would have to be in a certain format.

Well, some people found a way to hack into Apple's entertainment system and got emulators working on it. Reportedly, there are five available emulators for the Apple TV: Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), Nintendo64, Nintendo Gameboy Advance (GBA), and Sega Genesis. Instructions and the emulators themselves (we suppose the ROMs as well) now litter the interwebs but we shall insert a disclaimer here:

Tampering with the Apple TV might void your warranty, not to mention render the unit useless.

According to the report, hackers are also trying to find a way to work the Xbox360 with the Apple TV and are making progress. The "service only" USB port has been hacked into and so enabling the use of joysticks. Rumors say that in/famous Jon Lech Johansen has gotten hold of an Apple TV. We'll see what comes of that in the future. For now, be careful with those emulators.

 

Apple has recently announced that it will gradually add new software features and applications to its hyped iPhone and Apple TV products free of charge, according to a report by Apple Insider.

Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's chief financial officer, notes that this is a bold step to leverage what Apple does best. Oppenheimer adds that some of the upcoming iPhone applications will be "entirely new applications." The new features and applications will be made through automatic software updates to both iPhone and Apple TV.

Apple has yet to accept iPhone orders through retail or its online store. As for the initial supply of the iPhone, chief operating officer Tim Cook notes that "It's very difficult to tell what demand is until you're shipping the product."

Will Apple's attempt at changing the perception of the cell phone as a "throw away" product work? We'd like to know what you have to say.

A report from AppleInsider indicates that Target, another major retail chain aside from Wal-Mart and Circuit City, is expected to pick up their own stock of the Apple's new entertainment showcase product, the Apple TV.

Best Buy finalized a deal with Apple to shelf the Apple TV in their stores last month, and Target will now become the next retail to have Apple TV on sale and on display.

Of course, the new stock is not yet expected to fill Target retail warehouses. Reports have come in stating that Target should be allowed one month in order to carry a full stock quota of the product in selected retail outlets nationwide. They are also planning on setting up eye-catching demonstration booths in some select outlets in order to introduce the new product to the public.

A representative from Target declined to comment on this report, after conferring with Target's "internal partners." The TiVo contender is a current top seller at all Apple chains nationwide, but is still up against a lot of competition from Microsoft and TiVo. It's ability to be modded for gaming and mobile use is an added edge for the product, however.

Apple recently filed a patent on what could be some kind of total home entertainment system that will read music and video from just about every medium from iPods, computers or stand-alone DVD players.

The device may be an enhancement to the already-released Apple TV or may also be an entirely different device in itself. It was also speculated that the device may record media or stream data similar to a Slingbox.

The patent says that this Apple concept is segmented - divided into different modules - and has a central hub coordinating the exchanges. Of course, the user will be able to call the shots in a multitude of ways. Theories that a mouse and keyboard, a remote control or the iPhone can be used to direct everything have surfaced, although no confirmations have been made.

If Apple follows its innovative tradition of allowing third parties to create products that will enhance the system, firms will be likely to get in a rush to capitalize on this market opportunity. Still, everything's still just a patent at this point and a lot of modifications may still be made. We'll keep you posted for new developments. If you want to read more about this new Apple brainchild, follow the read URL.

Reports of Sling Media working on making their Slingbox placeshifting device compatible with Apple's new Apple TV have been confirmed according to The Unofficial Apple Weblog. The confirmation was reportedly made by Dave Zatz, an employee at Sling Media.

For those who have yet to encounter it, the Slingbox is a TV streaming device that lets users stream and view video from their AV sources (DVD player, TiVo, etc.) remotely on their Internet-capable PCs. It also has an IR blaster that lets users control their AV source as if they were in their living rooms and using a standard remote control.

The report from The Unofficial Apple Weblog says that the Slingbox Pro will apparently connect to the Apple TV via the component outputs. It will give users access not only to their videos but also to their entire iTunes library. Users can also reduce bandwidth by choosing audio only mode on the SlingPlayer software.

High-definition podcasts from Washingtonpost.com are now available on iTunes. These 720p HD podcasts featuring Washingtonpost.com documentaries are designed for viewing on HDTVs and, of course, the Apple TV.

According to tech blog Electronista, Washingtonpost.com is the first news organization to offer HD video content for the Apple TV.

"The washingtonpost.com's multimedia team has worked hard to hone not only their technical skills, but also their storytelling skills," said Tom Kennedy, managing editor of multimedia at Washingtonpost.com. "This team has invested in providing outstanding content and quality journalism, and in turn we've invested in the technology they need to keep growing without limitations."

The documentaries available for download include the "Being a black man" series by videojournalist Ben De La Cruz, a series on Darfur refugees in Chad by videojournalist Travis Fox, and "Justin's Got Game" by Pierre Kattar. For the more politically-minded, ongoing coverage of the presidential campaign trail by John Poole is also available.